It's starting to feel like the NCAAs for the Illini

This isn't the NCAA tournament, but a quick turnaround before the NIT quarterfinal game with Dayton on Wednesday sure had the feel of an NCAA weekend.

John Supinie

This isn't the NCAA tournament, but a quick turnaround before the NIT quarterfinal game with Dayton on Wednesday sure had the feel of an NCAA weekend.

After the 75-58 win over Kent State on Monday, Illinois finished preparations for the quarterfinal game that actually began nearly a week ago. In a tournament setting, players can't look ahead, even though the coaching staff must.

"You have to do that,'' Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "It looks like an NCAA game. That's what we will bring up to our guys. This really is an NCAA type situation. We're fortunate enough to play at home. You've got a one-day, quick turnaround. In a way, it's a second-round game. This is a good experience for our guys.''

Whether the Illini are still hurting from the NCAA rejection is moot at this point. For one thing, the Illini might not have much time to think about the Sweet 16. They're busy preparing for Dayton, the seventh-place team in the Atlantic-10 Conference.

With the university shut down for spring break, the Illini gathered for breakfast and an early look at Dayton on Tuesday morning. Then the Illini would follow the normal pregame routine: watch the scouting report tape, light practice, dinner and evening scouting report. The Illinois-Dayton winner heads to the NIT semifinals in Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.

"We've got to want to get to New York,'' Weber said. "We've got to play like it and match their intensity. That's the biggest thing. They'll pressure you and make you go fast. We have to take care of the ball and make sure we get good shots.''

The scouting report for Wednesday's game began building upon the return early Thursday morning from Stony Brook, N.Y., where the Illini won a first-round game. Coach Wayne McClain took the scouting duties for the Kent State game. He scouted Kent State for last season's game in South Padre Invitational. Assistants Jay Price (Cincinnati) and Jerrance Howard (Dayton) took over scouting duties for a possible quarterfinal game.

Finally, the Illini might be embracing the idea of winning a championship, no matter how many letters are in the name.

"We're starting to realize it's going to be important,'' Illinois center Mike Tisdale said. "We'd get to hang a banner. No Illinois team has done that (in the NIT). We're starting to leave the NCAA behind us and starting to think more about the NIT.''

If the Illini need a jump-start, they might get it from a loyal following. Illinois sold 10,032 tickets for the game Monday, and the school had already sold 6,600 through the business day Tuesday. While Illinois might not reach the 10,000 mark again because of the short window, the Illini found some energy from the crowd Monday.

"That was pretty loud for 10,000 people,'' Tisdale said. "I'm glad they were all there. It shows they still care about us. You have to give them credit. We gave them a lot of reasons to not be real interested. They stayed with it. Hopefully, we can give them another victory.''

Dayton had its own challenges. The Flyers won 81-66 at Cincinnati on Monday, then hopped on a bus and drove to Indianapolis to stay overnight. Dayton practiced at Conseco Fieldhouse on Tuesday afternoon, then bussed to Champaign-Urbana. The Flyers will hold a shoot-around at Assembly Hall on Wednesday.

"We play in tournament during the non-conference season to prepare ourselves for this time of year and these opportunities,'' Dayton coach Brian Gregory said. "It's a little more of a challenge because there's travel involved. To me, the biggest challenge is the opponent. In our league over the last three months or so, we haven't played a team like Illinois.

"They've got multi-dimensional players, run motion, set a lot of screens and do a lot of things differently.''

A team that reached the NCAA second round last season, Dayton is an aggressive, athletic team that relies more on hustle than sheer skill, Gregory said. The Flyers have four players with a 40-inch vertical leap. The Illini have one: guard Jeff Jordan. Gregory comes from the Tom Izzo coaching tree, and Weber sees a lot of similarities between Dayton and Michigan State. The Flyers also play defense like Purdue.

Flyers senior forward Chris Wright was a first-team all-Atlantic 10 pick and "he's the face of the program,'' Gregory said.

Noteworthy: Illinois has a 4-2 record against Dayton with the losses coming in postseason. Illinois fell to Dayton 88-86 in the NCAA first round in 1990, the year after reaching the Final Four with the Flyin' Illini. Dayton also defeated Illinois 61-58 in the 1982 NIT second round. … Dayton coach Brian Gregory is a Mount Prospect native who was a finalist for the Bradley coaching job before accepting the position at Dayton. … Dayton's seniors rank second in school history with 91 wins. … General admission tickets are available for $15. Parking is $5. The ticket office opens at 9 a.m. The doors open at 6 p.m., one hour earlier than normal.

Key for Illini: Handle the Flyers' athelticism. Play smart. Don't pile up the turnovers.